Questions tagged [scales]
For questions about playing, understanding, or studying scales.
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Question regarding the diminished 6th scale
I'm a bit confused about what exactly defines a diminshed 6th scale- does it have to be built off of a major scale, or can I also get a diminished 6th scale by adding a flatted 6th to a minor scale? ...
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If I learn scales, will I begin to recognize them in Tabs, which in turn will make me better at playing them?
Scales, whether it be the Pentatonic scale or Major scale, are a selection of notes from the Chromatic scale that sound good in concert with each other — according to my best understanding. If I take ...
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Do chord voicings matter for the intervals
If I'm playing in C Major the C Major open guitar chord and then I want to play the 5th to this chord, what chord should I play ?
I know there's a rule that says "to determine interval between 2 ...
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Is there a common name for the scale [0 2 4 5 7 8 10] (C D E F G Ab Bb C)? [duplicate]
Is there a standard or common way to refer to the scale with pitch classes 024578T or C-D-E-F-G-Ab-Bb-C (on C)?
There's many ways to refer to it as a mixture of another scale. Like saying "...
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Confusion on modes
I'm a bit confused about the modes. I'm learning them by ear through this app, where the app explains what to listen for. For instance: dorian has 2b (flats), and lydian has 1# (sharp).
The thing I'm ...
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How come scales that differ in their ascent and descent tend to use raised notes going up and lowered notes going down regardless of musical culture?
A great variety of scales across the world differ in the way they go up and down. Some examples that come to mind are the Melodic minor that has A and B natural going up but Bb and Ab going down. A ...
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Are there any scales (in any musical culture) that can contain non-fixed members (ones that can be sharped or flattened at will)?
I am wondering if there are any scales (that are in actual use) that also contain non-fixed pitches. By that I mean that in addition to having several fixed pitches, also have some "flexible"...
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Scales name convention
Suppose I take the whole step half step pattern from C major scale. Why can't I just impose this pattern to make C# major, D major, D# major, E major, F major ... this way? How to determine if its ...
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What animals can distinguish or recognize musical chords of like 2 notes? [closed]
I was just thinking if bird chirps fit into a musical scale in any case, so not sure about that. But what I'm wondering here is what animals "respond to" a pair of notes on the major or ...
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Is there an example music on Lydian ♭2 ♭7 scale? [closed]
Today I found that, in 19edo, the kleismic scale has interval steps of 1 4 1 4 1 4 4.
By setting C as the tonic, that is C - Dbb - Eb - Fbb - Gb - Abbb - Bbb. (where the white keys are standard ...
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How are right-hand major scales played on chromatic button accordions? Are they standardized?
I'm learning to play chromatic button accordion (C system) and my main reference is the Galliano method book (Complete Accordion Method).
This book contains reference material for how to play scales. ...
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Which Pentatonic "Box #" do you use to switch between Major and Minor? [closed]
From m to M: Some guys switch to "Box 2",(from Box 1) others claim "Box 4" (from box 1). Your thoughts please? I've checked out this short John Meyer clip on the subject, you might ...
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am i right with this track's scale? [closed]
hi can you please help me about this track's scale ? i think it might be c# mixolydian as i tried to play the notes along the track am i right about it or it is something else - i'm a beginner by the ...
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Why can't we spell a diminished 3rd or an augmented 5th using only the notes in a major scale?
This might be a silly question, but why can't we spell a diminished 3rd or an augmented 5th using only the notes in a major scale?
I think what I'm really confused is that, for example, A to F has 8 ...
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How to change the sheet below to notes? [closed]
Hello,
The sheet above looks like a major scale, and the blue coloured are blue notes according to the source which is Wikipedia. But I don't know the notes. Any help? Thank you.
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Does it make sense to swich note and mode depending on the chord being played?
So, C Aeolian and A# Mixolydian have the same notes right? That means that the difference is just which notes I emphasize, correct? Like, focusing on A# notes instead of C just makes the sound more ‘...
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Historically, what is the difference between the interval qualities "perfect" and "major"? [duplicate]
So I'm trying to wrap my head around intervals. I know that, for instance, a major chord is made up by the fundamental (I), a perfect third (III) and a perfect fifth (V). So, the "important" ...
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When and/or how did Western music shift from downward to upward scale concepts?
The ancient Greeks constructed their scales from top to bottom.
For example, Wikipedia:
Note that Greek theorists conceived of scales as descending from higher pitch to lower (the opposite of modern ...
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Guitar + Harmonica Sync - Can we sync chords?
Disclaimer: I know nothing about Harmonica. I'm a guitar newbie trying to accompany my friend who is learning to play the Harmonica.
My friend has a "C Major" harmonica (if that's what it's ...
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What is the correct term for the "common" pentatonic scale?
So a "pentatonic" scale is just any scale with 5 scale degrees (pitches). Yet, in most music we always just seem to assume that it's the scale with the following number of semitones (half ...
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Phrygian vs freygish, what is the difference? [duplicate]
What is the difference between Freygish and Phrygian mode? Are they related? Sometimes I see freygish explained as having a flat 5 and other times like it's just another name for the Phrygian mode.
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Question on the formation of the Harmonic field in general
Given a key note, you can build up any sort of scale, for scales are just patterns of whole and half steps. The minor and major are examples.
Now, if the scale is the set of notes, the harmonic field ...
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Greek modes, minor and major scales
By definition, a major scale is:
W W H W W W H
similarly, a minor scale is:
W H W W H W W
Now, the standard notion of Greek modes begins with: a major scale, and the construction of the modes with ...
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How can I explain/understand a flattened 2nd in a minor melody
My 10yo daughter (~grade 4 piano level) likes composing her own tunes, and then we'll discuss them and expand on them. Recently she composed a melody that appears to be in c# minor, except that every ...
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Can my scale have two whole steps of distance?
I want to create scales. I would like to do that to create the most original music as possible.
Now, as a beginner, I don't see why the scales that I studied are composed just by whole steps (W) and ...
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What does it mean to play "behind" or "in front" of a root scale note [closed]
I've been playing bass for a couple of years now, learning mostly from tabs. Now I've turned to actually trying to learn more than robotically copying bass lines without understanding them. I've ...
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Chords for rumba don't fit in any scale
I was trying to find the scale for this tab:
https://acordes.lacuerda.net/pablo_montero/gata_salvaje.shtml
The main chords are Fm A#m D# C.
I tried with F Harmonic Minor, but it lacks the D#. Not only ...
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Do People and/or Robots Speak on Pitch and in Harmony with themselves?
I asked this in Linguistics, but apparently nobody there wants to venture an answer; maybe this is a better place to ask it.
My ear is not good enough to tell via observation whether people speak in ...
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Functional ear training vs interval ear training for singers
Do singers use functional (scale degree) ear training method or interval ear training method to find a reference pitch from the accompaniments to start singing in key?
for example, the accompaniment ...
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Term for minor harmony with both major and minor sixths applied
In my bar piano arrangement of the song "Georgia On My Mind" (pub. Schott), in the first measure, half beat, there is an interval of a diminished octave in the left hand: G# and G ...
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Constructing a database of complete music theory?
I would like to write a python program which is connected to a freely downloadable music theory database / data-structure to run the following query:
Return all chords within the E major scale ...
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Right hand descending scale F# key finger 3 vs. 4
When playing the descending scale in the images shown, I always use finger 3 (orange) on the black F# key (3214321) because it's easier than finger 4 (printed) as it's far from the center and the hand ...
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Piano scale fingering difference between one and multiple octave target
I'm a piano beginner and trying to practice scales correctly. What confuses me is that all guides mention how important it is to practice scales, but none are explaining the difference in fingering ...
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Are there popular microtonal scales for violins? Or any instrument that can easily get microtones?
I'm interested in popular or used microtonal scales. I don't need a list of all possible ones, just those that are used.
If you could also please give the uses of such microtonalities to hear not just ...
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Does the scale of C major with a half-sharp D have a name?
I am using the same melody for 2 instruments and I half-sharpened every D note on the second one, and left the first as C major. Does this have a name? Or is it used anywhere?
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How many kinds of Maqam systems are there in far and middle eastern music
I have read about "Arabic Maqams" used in music (which is quite well discussed) but there are other Maqam systems as well.
What are the other Maqam systems used in other cultures/ traditions?...
user89029
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What is the lowered supertonic note called, especially in Phrygian and Locrian modes?
I know most scales/modes like Ionian (major), Dorian, Lydian, Mixolydian and Aeolian (natural minor) have a major second note called the supertonic, but some scales/modes like Phrygian and Locrian ...
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Should a scale like C double harmonic major or C phrygian dominant be notated as a 4 flats or natural key?
I'm not really looking for an "objective" answer, but a list of pros and cons for the 2 options I listed (and maybe other options like notating the key as 3 flats or making a weird custom ...
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What scale is this (C# D# F F# G# A# B)? [closed]
I have these notes:
C# D# F F# G# A# B
What scale is it?
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Six string bass and Guitar Technique
I know some stuff on guitar. By stuff, I mean scales/chords etc...
I would like to have some knowledge for the bass. Maybe for home recording, enriching my sounds.
The bass is a four stringed ...
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Any tips on making pentatonic climbing more fluid (electric guitar)
I've been practicing pentatonic scales on my electric guitar and sometimes it'll be very fluid and smooth sounding and other times it'll be very choppy and static. Is making the climb-up and climb-...
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Descending mode vs. Mixolydian
I looked through my notes and I saw the formula for descending mode. I had written that the formula was "WWHWWHW". I'm confused because I'm sure that is also the formula for the Mixolydian ...
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Term for Major Scale with a minor seventh
Given a C major Scale, with C as root:
C D E F G A B
now make the 7th. step minor, and keeping C as root
(not switching to F Major)
C D E F G A Bb
What is the term / name for this key?
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How to read movable scale chart for A minor pentatonic?
I bought a guitar chart and it has this figure for moveable minor pentatonic scale:
I know the number 1 box pattern of the minor pentatonic scale (Justin guitar course). I play it starting on the 5th ...
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How to construct chords in exotic scales?
Till now i've been learning to construct chord's by stacking / altering notes in the MAJOR scale and its modes.
What about other types of exotic scales ?
I can see lot of exotic scales here -> ...
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Playing Am pentatonic scale over A blues chord progression
I had a guitar entrance exam yesterday regarding improvisation. The guy put on a A blues backing track and told me to improvise.
As I'm not a blues guy myself, I went and improvised on the A major ...
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Keyboard with black and white keys all the same size and in-line? [closed]
I want to know if anyone makes a chromatic keyboard on which sharps/flats are black, but the same size as the other keys and in line with them (see sketch below). There needs to be no distinction ...
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How do you properly read an extended scale chart?
This question is about reading extended scale charts.
Example A: Shows a small segment of notes that are easy to read and practice.
Example B: Shows all possible notes and I don't know where to start ...
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The reading of a song: what a beginner in composition needs to pay attention when reading a song? [closed]
Firstly, I'm a beginner in composition and all of my songs were quite "intuitive". I'm at a stage where I really need to know music theory in order to produce better songs.
I) Introduction
...
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Doubt on scale shape creation and plagiarism
First of all,
-Tone := T
-Semi-Tone:= ST.
Suppose you have the well know C major scale pattern:
T T ST T T T ST
Well, this is just one example of what we can do in music: ...
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